With a 2-0 victory over Everton on Monday at Anfield, Cody Gakpo scored his first goal for Liverpool, giving Jurgen Klopp’s squad their first Premier League victory of the season. For the best sports betting casinos of February 2023, make sure you visit our pages!
In a heated match that finished with players fighting on the field after an intentional foul by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford on Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah’s first-half goal put Liverpool on their path to victory. Liverpool’s slim chances of finishing in the top four were improved by the victory, while Everton was left in the relegation zone going into their critical match against Leeds United on Saturday.
Liverpool snaps their skid to keep Everton in the relegation zone.
As Klopp’s squad increased the relegation concerns for neighbors Everton, Liverpool eventually recorded their first Premier League victory of 2023 and welcomed back a fit-again Diogo Jota for his first appearance since October.
The main goal now for managers Klopp and Sean Dyche is to find a method to preserve their respective team’s seasons after a disastrous start to the year for both teams. Finding the motivation to make a late push up the table to guarantee a top-four finish and Champions League qualifying is crucial for Liverpool. But avoiding the bottom three and relegation is Everton’s top aim under newly recruited manager Dyche.
However, both teams still have a lot of work to do to meet their objectives.
Despite this victory, Liverpool currently trails fourth-place Newcastle United by nine points heading into their next match on Saturday at St. James’ Park. A win would give Liverpool a real chance of finishing in the top four since they have played one fewer game than Eddie Howe’s squad. However, anything less than three points will make Klopp’s team outsiders to secure a Champions League position.
The situation is considerably worse for Everton, who after this loss remain in the bottom three. Leeds, who are one position and one point behind Dyche’s squad in the standings, face at Goodison Park on Saturday after defeating league leaders Arsenal in his first game in charge earlier this month.
Although this loss may hurt Everton’s sense of community, the actual game on Saturday is considerably more important. However, both Liverpool and Everton must perform better than they did in this encounter at Anfield if they are to rescue their respective seasons.
Nunez and Gakpo have potential in the future.
Gakpo and Darwin Nunez have both had trouble scoring goals since moving to Liverpool for significant sums of money this season, but both strikers were crucial to Liverpool’s victory over Everton.
Salah’s initial goal was assisted by Nunez, who had five goals in 16 league appearances since his club-record £75 million signing from Benfica, while Gakpo eventually scored his first goal for Liverpool since moving there in a £37 million deal from PSV Eindhoven last month. The two players were signed by Liverpool to ultimately replace Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mane, the latter of whom left for Bayern Munich last summer. At only 23 years old, they both have a bright future ahead of them.
Nunez and Gakpo’s performances for Liverpool have shown that they are both still raw and inexperienced at the highest level, but they are also both incredibly gifted, and the Liverpool supporters are being understood the duo as they stumble about Anfield.
Gakpo is still getting used to the rigors of English football and Klopp’s expectations of him inside the team structure, but Nunez is never short of effort and he can cause havoc in opponent penalty areas, even if he misses too many opportunities. But this was a terrific night for Gakpo and Nunez, two of Liverpool’s main future prospects, who both scored a goal.
Everton entered this match with the lowest goal-scoring record in the Premier League this season, and they never seemed to be going above and beyond their pitiful total of 16 goals for the whole season. They haven’t scored many goals this season because of the center forward Dominic Calvert-injury Lewin’s issues, but the English striker has only scored one goal in 11 outings.
Everton entered this match with the lowest goal-scoring record in the Premier League this season, and they never seemed to be going above and beyond their pitiful total of 16 goals for the whole season. They haven’t scored many goals this season because of the center forward Dominic Calvert-injury Lewin’s issues, but the English striker has only scored one goal in 11 outings.
Demarai Gray and Anthony Gordon, who is now a player for Newcastle, are Everton’s joint-leading scorers in the league with just three goals each, which tells everything about their predicament. In lieu of the injured Calvert-Lewin at Anfield, Dyche gave 22-year-old Ellis Simms his first season start, although Simms struggled mightily against Liverpool defenders Joel Matip and Joe Gomez.
